About Linda Fratianne
Linda Sue Fratianne (born August 2, 1960) is an American former figure skater known for winning two world-championship titles (1977, 1979), four consecutive U.S. championships (1977–1980) and a silver medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. == Career == Throughout her figure-skating career, Fratianne was coached by Frank Carroll. Fratianne became the first female skater to land two different types of triple jumps (toe loop and Salchow) in her free-skating programs in 1976 at the U.S. National Championships, finishing in second place. The next year, Fratianne won the gold medal. At the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo in 1977, Fratianne won her first world title by upsetting the favorite, Anett Pötzsch of East Germany, despite having fallen following a triple-Salchow jump in her free-skating routine. After losing to Pötzsch at the 1978 World Championships in Ottawa, Canada, where she finished second, Fratianne regained her world title in 1979 in Vienna, Austria. Fratianne's chief rivals were Pötzsch (East Germany), Emi Watanabe (Japan) and Dagmar Lurz (West Germany). Her compulsory figures were considered to be significantly weaker than her free skating; consequently, she frequently placed well below Pötzsch and Lurz in the compulsories and compensated with strong short and free programs. In the short and free programs, Fratianne never placed lower than Pötzsch or Lurz between 1977 and 1980 in any competition. However, as the rules at the time placed much weight on compulsory figures, she only won a major title twice.
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